The Kase of the Kurious Kender
by Ziggy Sternenstaub
Summary: Post "Wanna Bet?" Palin, Tanin and Sturm encounter a series of strange thefts in a small Solamnic town, and Palin must use his magic and wits to solve the mystery.
1. Chapter 1

Palin Majere is my very favourite Dragonlance character, and I consider him sadly under-loved. I'm not too fond of what Weis and Hickman did with him in the War of Souls, so I primarily write about him as a young man. I hope that everyone enjoys this little kender tale, which is about half done right now and being edited. I'll be posting another part roughly once a week until it's finished.

Note: This story features a gnome. Unfortunately I had to put spaces between his words, because the text programme kept erasing all of his lines when I left them together. In place of run on speech, I have simply left out intermediate punctuation in his lines in order to simulate speed.

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**The Kase of the Kurious Kender**

by Ziggy Sternenstaub

"_**All human beings should try and learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why."**__ -_-James Thurber

The coast of western Solamnia was truly magnificent—salt encrusted black rocks glittering like precious stones under the caressing onslaught of a pale summer sun—and Palin Majere took the time to enjoy the rare scenery, appreciating the majesty of the sea despite his recent, unfortunate experience with boats. But the young mage's solemn regard for the wind-tossed waves was doomed to be broken, accompanied as he was by his two elder brothers, at least one of whom was never silent for long.

"Are we there yet?" Sturm moaned.

"You know as well as I do that we're not," Tanin responded irritably.

"Fine—as we _almost _there yet?" Sturm corrected himself, moaning no less even in the grip of linguistic clarification.

"No," Tanin said flatly.

"When will be be almost there?"

Despite his new-found patience for the antics of his less-clever middle brother, Palin could not resist the now-overpowering temptation to roll his green eyes. He ignored whatever response Tanin provided and returned his attention to the sea, thinking of wonders both terrible and magnificent that dwelled beyond his sight—wonders he now knew with certainty existed.

"What do you think, Palin?"

"Hmm?" Palin murmurred.

"I said: according to the map, we should be in the next town in about two hours. We could stop there for the night," Tanin suggested.

"So soon?" Palin frowned. He might be new to this adventuring business, but he was under the impression that one generally didn't stop riding when the sun was still high in the sky.

"The next town after that would be smack in the middle of Solamnia, and it would would take us clear through the night to get there. You have to think ahead when you're on the road—sometimes time lost one day is time saved the next, little brother."

Palin frowned at the patronising voice, so familiar from his childhood and so recently thought lost in the new understanding between the three brothers. He should have known better.

"I made that mistake the first time out," Tanin continued more gently. "Sturm and me ended up tumbling through a wood half the night."

"I ran into a tree," Sturm said, murderously cheerful. "Got knocked out and put two more days on our journey."

Palin grinned despite himself, appreciating the humour of his brothers' bumbling early misadventures.

"Some days," he mused, "I think that mum and dad and Uncle Raistlin and Tanis and the others took all of the good adventures and didn't leave any for the rest of us."

"Tell me about it!" Sturm roared. "They got the War of the Lance and dragons and battling the Queen of Darkness herself, all we get is a stupid rock and some crazy women with spears!"

"That 'stupid rock' was the legendary Greygem of Gargath," Tanin reminded his brother blandly. "Not exactly a pebble."

"And by the time our parents were our age, they'd already saved the world," Sturm wailed as if he hadn't heard a word his elder brother said. "A pretty tall order to live up to, and we haven't exactly been given many opportunities—and we can't even tell anyone about the Greygem anyway!"

"Not that anyone would believe us if we did," Palin added.

"Yeah," Tanin said glumly, and all three brothers sighed and flicked their reigns to pick up the pace, once more united in their tentative hope that some world-destroying plot complete with crazed cackling might be found a tad further up the road.

* * *

Right on schedule, the Majeres arrived two hours hence in the town of Sweetrose. With some typically Solamnic mutters and glares at Palin's robes and staff, the town guards let them pass over the great, slushy moat that surrounded the town. All three brothers were tired and hungry from the road, and no arguments were had as they arrived at the local inn and handed their horses over to the stable boy—who turned out to be no boy at all, but a predictably befuddled and verbally indecipherable gnome.

The inside of the inn was warm a warm and civilised reflection of the setting sun that was painting the outside sky a blazing red, and Palin headed to the a table in a flickering corner next to the fire. Neither of the other brothers objected to the choice, and Palin relaxed a body that had been unconsciously tense. Yet it seemed he was not to be entirely spared the antics of the elder Majeres, for no sooner had they taken their seats than did an attractive young woman approach their table. She wore the low-cut blouse that seemed the uniform of barmaids everywhere, and already Sturm's eyes were glued to her bust-line.

"Greetings, strangers. What brings you to our humble town?" she asked.

Inwardly, Palin moaned with despair.

"We're on our way to Lord Gunther to become Knights," Sturm boasted, visibly puffing out his chest.

Solemnly, Tanin nodded his agreement as he placed a steady, responsible hand on the pommel of his great sword.

"Oooh," the woman said, dark eyes improbably wide. "Sounds exciting. And is this your squire?" she asked, looking at Palin with eyes that seemed to the young wizard less ignorant than utterly mocking.

Witlessly, Tanin and Sturm sputtered their way through giggles and gasped explanations to which the girl paid no attention. Palin's lips quirked slightly upwards.

"What can I get you boys tonight?" the barmaid asked the two knights-hopeful and their "squire."

"Potatoes?" Sturm asked eagerly.

"Baked, boiled, or fried?"

"Fried," the two elder brothers chimed predictably.

"With beer," Tanin added.

"Two fried potatoes with beer. And you, sir squire?" the woman smiled.

Palin laughed a little. "Stew and white wine." He ordered his preferred lighter beverage with less trepidation than he might have in the past. He was in no way eager to repeat his recent acquaintance with that great rite of passage, the hang-over.

"Coming right up."

"I don't know why I bother getting fried potatoes away from home," Tanin mused when the woman had gone. "They're never the same."

"_Nothing's _like the Inn of the Last Home," Sturm sighed with a nostalgic longing that seemed all out of proportion to the month or so they'd been away from Solace. Still neither Tanin nor Palin could help looking a little wistful.

The evening meal came soon enough, and though his brothers did indeed seem less satisfied than they would have been were Caramon or Tika making the potatoes, neither complained. For himself, Palin was happy enough with his stew, and the white wine was the dry elven blend he preferred.

When the bowls were empty and the glasses drained, the brothers stood with a clamber and shuffle.

"I don't trust that stable boy," Tanin mused darkly. "You check the horses, Palin; make sure they've been rubbed down and fed. Sturm and I'll get a room."

Though he was certain that Tanin himself simply wanted to avoid further contact with the loquacious gnome, Palin nodded in deference to his brother, collected the Staff of Magius and went back outside to the stable.

"I'm here to check on our horses," he announced forthrightly to the gnome, wishing all the while that he knew some more cunning, subtle manner of going about his task. But like the sheath on his arm, cunning appeared to have the better of him.

"They're right here I don't think there's any reason to check on them I've already fed them and given them water with my latest invention the Feed Master 6000--"

"Invention!" Palin exclaimed, truly alarmed. _Curse all gnomes!_

"Yes it's the latest version do you want to see it?"

"Yes!"

Palin's thick white robes slapped his legs as he jogged after the eagerly scurrying stable gnome. To his surprise, the horses they passed all seemed placidly healthy and happy. Perhaps he didn't need to worry after all?

"Here it is the Feed Master 6000 the latest in scientific and--"

"It's very...impressive," Palin said slowly, eyeing the great, cumbersome contraption with trepidation and wondering with awe why all of the horses weren't dead.

"Yes as I was saying it's the latest in scientific--"

"Where are my horses?" Palin interrupted peremptorily.

The gnome huffed. "No one ever has any interest in science anymore the age of great discoveries is--"

"Horses," Palin repeated firmly. His fingers itched to cast some motivating cantrip.

_You're a White Robe,_ he reminded himself. _**White**__ Robe. Benign. Benevolent. Magic for the greater good. Not given to painfully motivating recalcitrant, bloody-minded gnomes!_

"Now where did I put that filing system latest in scientific...."

Palin carefully resisted the urge to scream.

"Oh right here yes follow me."

_Thank Paladine!_

Feeling unduly exhausted given his relative exertion, Palin trudged after the gnome, eyes wearily fixed on the sawdust floor.

"Oh dear."

Oh dear? Oh _dear?_

If there was one thing that should alarm a good, gods-fearing mage of any stripe of robe, it was a gnome who spoke both intelligibly and limited himself to two short words. Reluctantly, Palin lifted his gaze and wasn't at all surprised to be confronted by three empty stalls.

"I don't understand how this happened they were right here just a moment ago when I locked the stall with the latest in gnomish locking technology!"

Palin closed his eyes and put his temples to ward off an oncoming migraine headache.

"Let's examine this logically," he said, more to himself than to the gnome.

Yet the gnome responded.

"Oh yes logic that's a wonderfully scientific method quite advanced for one of your species!"

"Thank you. Exactly when did you last see the horses?"

"I believe it must have been roughly ten minutes ago or six thousand seconds to be more scientifically pre--"

"What were you doing then?"

"Feeding the horses a carefully nutritionally balanced--"

"Wonderful. And no one else came in after that?"

"No."

Palin waited, and the waited some more, but no addendum appeared to be forthcoming. "Open the stall doors, please," he requested.

Curiously silent, the gnome opened up all of the stalls, and Palin methodically examined each. He was just about to give up infrustration when he noticed a small scrap of blue and red fabric stuck in the bottom hinge of the third stall. He pulled on it, but it refused to budge even when he moved the door on the hinge, and he resorted to the knife up his sleeve. To his relief, the cunning sheath yielded to his mastery.

"Very colourful the blend would have been achieved by tieing--"

"I know," Palin said softly, still kneeling next to the door. "It's a popular technique among kender."

"A remarkably scientific method for an unscientific species," the gnome babbled.

"Is something wrong, Palin? You've been in here a long time!" Sturm's booming voice filled the stable as the young warrior stepped inside.

"I'd say something is wrong. Our horses are gone."

"Gone! But they were just here!"

"Approximately ten minutes ago. But now they're gone, and only this--" he indicated the scrap of fabric "--was left behind."

"None of them had that on them," Sturm protested, his brow wrinkled with confusion.

"No, I mean the thief could have left it."

"But it could have been left at any time. How do you know it's from the thief?"

"It's fresh. The colours haven't faded. and it's clean. No muck or moisture damage from the hay and animals."

"That makes sense," Sturm said with admiration. "So what do we do with it?"

"It's kender-fashion, and likely only a kender could make off with three horses without anyone noticing."

"Makes me wish Uncle Tas was here," Sturm joked.

Palin snorted. "As much as I love Uncle Tas, he'd be liable to make off with the rest of the horses."

Sturm laughed, not acknowledging the slighted gnome who huffed and self-importantly brushed past him. "So now what?" the big warrior asked his magician brother.

"Now," Palin said grimly, "we tell Tanin."

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I'd be thrilled with any comments and reviews. :)


	2. Chapter 2

The mystery continues!

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"That's great! That's just...brilliant. What in the Nine Hells do we do now?" Tanin ranted, pacing the small room he'd rented for all three brothers. "We don't have enough coin to buy three new horses."

"Stay in town and wash dishes for our keep?" Sturm suggested with a grin.

"This isn't the time for jokes!" Tanin snapped.

"It never is," Sturm murmured to Palin, who suppressed his own grin by loudly clearing his throat.

"The answer is obvious," the mage pointed out. "We need to stay and find the horses."

"They could be ten miles outside of town by now!" Tanin stormed.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. The gnome might not have noticed a thief, but only because he was so preoccupied with his inventions. The town guards would have been suspicious of anyone alone with three horses, much less a kender."

"So we go to the guards..."

"And we'll know if the kender is still in town," Palin concluded.

"He could have taken another way," Sturm suggested.

"Unlikely," Tanin snorted. "There might not be a wall around the town, but the only way the horses would be able to make it over that moat would be to swim—and three horses being urged through ten feet of crap and rubbage by one kender?"

"I guess not," Sturm admitted.

"Then we go to the town gate and find out if they've seen an exceptionally light-fingered kender," Tanin said with grim determination, and marched out of the room.

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"Aint seen no damned kenders," the tall, bulky guard said stiffly.

Palin winced at the man's language and thought longingly of school. The other students might have given him the evil eye, but at least they had had a more than tentative grasp of Common when they whispered that the ghost of his uncle was going to possess him and kill them all.

"Have you seen anyone leaving the town with three extra horses?" Tanin persisted. "A black one and two brown ones? One of the brown ones has white spots on its flanks?"

"Nope," the guard grunted succinctly, crossing his arms and glaring at the brothers. Palin wondered if being monosyllabic were a prerequisite for becoming a town guard. In his admittedly limited travels, he'd yet to meet a more eloquent example of the profession.

"Those horses are ours and they've been stolen," Tanin explained. "If you do see them, I'd appreciate it if you'd hold up whoever's with them and send for Tanin Majere at the inn."

"Could be yer tryin' to steal them right now."

"I guess it could be," Tanin said agreeably. Palin lifted an eyebrow and watched as a small flash of movement passed between the two men.

"See what I can do," the guard said somewhat more agreeably.

Another flash.

"Tanin Majere at the inn," the guard parroted happily, suddenly all smiles.

"Thanks," Tanin said dryly.

"Say—Majere! You wouldn't happen to be related to Caramon Majere, would you?" the guard asked eagerly.

The inevitable chest-pufffing followed, and even Palin couldn't couldn't help but smile a bit proudly, though he was very certain to leave his chest right where it was.

"Sure we are!" Sturm boasted. "We're his sons!"

"Well, why didn't you say so?" the guard exclaimed. "Coulda saved a lotta trouble."

"We don't like to trade on our parents' fame too much," Tanin said with an exaggerated modesty that made Palin roll his eyes.

"Of course not—big strapping lads like you, er, two... Say, you a wizard?" the guard demanded, squinting at Palin with renewed suspicion.

Palin sighed, "Yes," and waited for the semi-inevitable accusation of plans for future world domination.

"We don't need your kind here! Son of Caramon Majere or no—_'specially _son of Caramon Majere."

The unspoken connection hung in the air, and Tanin and Sturm shifted uneasily.

"We'll be gone as soon as we find our horses," Palin said patiently.

"Dunno. Think I should ask the boss," the guard grunted, returning to his monosyllabic roots.

"Just a day or two," Tanin suggested, and there was a final flash between them. The guard looked down and his eyes briefly widened.

"Well...mayhap it'd be allowed," the man conceded.

"How many more nights are we going to be sleeping on the ground?" Palin asked as the brothers walked back into town.

"All of them, most likely," Tanin sighed. "But if we find the horses, at least it won't take us month to walk to Lord Gunther."

"Sorry about that," Palin added stiffly.

"About what?"

"About...me."

"There's nothing to apologise for!" Tanin flared. "It's just his own idiot small-mindedness that frightened him. You had nothing to do with it!"

"Yeah," Sturm said with defiance.

"Yeah," Palin said wistfully, twirling the Staff of Magius and staring into the crystal.

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"Are you certain you haven't seen anything?" Tanin asked for what seemed the thousandth time.

"No, haven't seen any kenders," the townswoman said quickly, and hurried on.

"This is impossible!" Tanin exclaimed, throwing his heavily muscled arms into the air with sheer exasperation.

"I think we're going about it the wrong way," Palin said slowly. "These people obviously don't want to talk to us, so they're not going to admit it even if there were an army of kender standing right in front of us all."

"Army of kender! They'd steal the whole town out from under us and the clothes right off our backs," Sturm snorted."

"Exactly," said Palin archly.

"Eh?" Sturm blinked.

"I see where you're going," Tanin said after a moment. "Don't ask if people have seen any kender; ask if their belongings are going missing."

"Then follow the trail," Sturm finished.

"And maybe we should start with the one person who's been even a bit friendly to us," Palin suggested.

"Who's that?" Sturm asked, kicking a stone from the road.

"The barmaid."

"I don't know. She was a little sarcastic," Sturm said doubtfully.

_You caught that, did you? _Palin silently sneered, and then gave himself a hefty mental slap for the cruelty.

"Palin's right," Tanin said. "She's the only one who's been even a bit helpful. Might as well start with her."

Feeling even more guilty, Palin didn't acknowledge the praise, but started red-faced and brisk back to the inn.

Tanin jogged after him. "You feeling well, little brother?"

"Yes, I'm well," Palin said with exaggerated formality.

"Uh huh. And you'd tell me if you weren't."

Palin sneaked a glance to the side. "Maybe."

"That's what I thought," Tanin sighed.

"Let's just find our horses and get out of here," Sturm said as he caught up with them.

"I thought that's what we were trying to," Palin snapped.

"Boys," Tanin warned, mock-paternally.

"Yes, Dad?" the other two brothers chorused sarcastically.

Tanin heaved another sigh. "What I have to put up with."

Sturm laughed, and Palin found himself joining in the hearty chuckles. Annoy him though they may, he could never stay angry at his brothers for long. Sometimes he thought that life would be so much easier if he could.

"Maybe you should talk to the barmaid, Palin," Sturm suggested suddenly. "She seemed to like you."

"She did?" Palin asked doubtfully. He certainly hadn't noticed any such thing. "I thought you said she was sarcastic."

His two elder brothers exchanged amused glances. "To _us,_" Sturm clarified with a big grin. "Trust us. You might not notice such things, but she liked you."

Palin grunted doubtfully. "If you think so."

"We think so," Tanin echoed Sturm.

"Women like studious, quiet types," the middle brother added.

"They do?" Palin asked with what seemed to him to be a truly unusual amount of blank stupidity.

His brothers laughed. "You're funny, little brother," Sturm informed him, sending Palin's eyebrow flying to unprecedented heights.

"Fine, so Palin talks to the lady," Tanin firmly reigned the conversation back to business. "Hopefully he'll discover something useful."

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I hope you are still enjoying the story, and reviews are more than welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Onwards and upwards!

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Palin sat in the warm fireplace corner and took out his spellbook, settling in to re-memorise what he'd previously eliminated from his repertoire. He found that he was only missing one spell—humiliatingly lost when a tossing and turning Sturm, plagued by lingering seasickness, had begged the mage to cast it and give him a solid night's sleep. Other than the brief and enlightening interlude with Dougan Redhammer, the young wizard's travels had so far been intolerably peaceful.

Close-eyed and murmurring magic words to himself in the effort to imprint them on his brain, Palin did not notice the shadow that fell across the table.

"Something to drink, sir squire?" an ironic voice asked. Palin opened his eyes with a start and saw the dark-haired barmaid smiling down at him.

"Oh—another white wine, please," he requested, finger caught in his spellbook as he closed the soft cover.

"Coming right up. Is that a spellbook?" the woman asked curiously.

"Yes," Palin answered blankly, staring a little. _What else could it be?_

"I've never met a real wizard before, just stage magicians," she told him.

"I probably wouldn't be here either, but I'm accompanying my brothers on their journey," Palin explained awkwardly, trying to make it sound less like the milk-run that it was.

"Two warriors and a wizard in the family: an unusual combination," the barmaid mused.

Palin chuckled with some bitterness. "It's a family tradition. My father was a formidable warrior in his youth, and my uncle...." he trailed off reluctantly.

"Your uncle?" the woman prompted gently, her dark eyes curious.

"My uncle was a great wizard. He's been dead since before I was born," the young mage sighed. He removed his finger from inside his spellbook and tenderly smoothed both of his long, dexterous hands over the white cover.

"I'm sorry," the woman said with more genuine regret than Palin expected..

"I never knew him, of course, but I wish I could. No one else I know really understands how I feel about the magic. But sometimes..." he paused again, thinking darkly of the only-perhaps-illusory Raistlin of his Test. He finished darkly, "Sometimes I think he's better off dead."

The woman drew in a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry," Palin added quickly. "It's very complicated."

"It must be," she said, and left.

The mage chided himself for his unguarded tongue, thinking he'd lost his chance to question the barmaid about other possible thefts. He wondered furiously how he was going to explain this to Tanin. "By the Abyss," he cursed softly. It seemed his uncle was doomed to haunt his every day.

He was therefore quite surprised when the girl returned only a minute later with a full glass.

"White wine for the White mage," she said, and set the glass down on the table with a flourish. "I'm Mally," she added.

"Palin," the young sorcerer returned as he picked up the glass.

"Where are you from, Palin?" Mally asked.

"Abasinia," he answered vaguely.

"Of course. I should have recognised the accent. You're from the north, yes?"

"You have a good ear."

"Not really. We get a lot of merchants in Sweetrose. You learn to recognise them all."

"This does seem a well-off area," Palin noted, seeing a chance to learn more.

"We do well enough," Mally conceded with a shrug.

"People must be upset," Palin added.

Mally frowned with confusion. "Upset about being well off?"

"No, about the thefts," the mage corrected her.

The barmaid sighed. "So you've heard. I suppose it's inevitable, but most of us have been trying to keep it to ourselves."

"How long has it been happening?"

"About two weeks now." Mally's voice dropped to a whisper, and she looked around as if fearing eavesdroppers. "Things just started to vanish, as if into nothingness. Not just small things, but big things. Equipment...animals, and...."

"And?" Palin prompted.

"Old Varson's tool shed disappeared one night. Right out of the ground. There's nothing left but a big hole."

Palin shook his head with astonishment; there was more serious than he'd expected.

"For myself, I suspected magic," the woman concluded. She fell silent and stared at the White Robe expectantly.

Palin leaned back in his chais and steepled his fingers. Had his whole kender theory just been rendered void? Was this actually the work of another magic user? What about the scrap of tie-dyed cloth he'd found? Mere coincidence?

"It could be magic," Palin said slowly.

"I knew it!" Mally exclaimed. "I was telling everyone it was magic, and none of them wanted to believe it."

"Even after the tool shed disappeared?" the mage asked dubiously.

Mally shrugged. "This is Solamnia. We don't believe in magic, even when we see it happening right in front of our eyes. You know what I mean."

He did indeed. Even in these more peaceful and tolerant times, the old fears and prejudices still lurked only just below the surface of civilisation.

"Can you take me to where this tool shed was?" Palin asked. "I should be able to tell you if magic was involved, if it wasn't cast too long ago."

"It was two days ago, and I can take you tomorrow morning. I won't be working then."

"What about tonight?" Palin insisted.

The woman frowned cautiously and looked uneasy. "It's quite dark already."

Palin caressed the Staff of Magius. "I bring my own light, and every moment gone by might mean a greater chance of any magical residue disappearing completely."

"Well, if you really think so...."

"I do," the mage said, allowing his urgency to show clearly.

"I suppose I can take you in an hour, after my shift ends."

Palin smiled earnestly. "Thank you."

Mally blushed and smiled back with shy pleasure before bouncing away.

* * *

"This could be serious," Tanin said with that sense of grave responsibility that made Palin want to grind his teeth. "Another renegade mage. Big business, little brother."

"Not necessarily a renegade," retorted the youngest Majere brother. "There's no Tower law stating that mages aren't allowed to steal. The perpetrator could be a mischievous Red Robe, a Black Robe, or even a White Robe performing some kind of experiment."

"Some experiment," Sturm grunted.

Palin pursed his lips to stop himself from snapping. "All I'm saying if that we don't have much information. Hopefully I'll be able to get something from the shed, but after two days...."

"It doesn't look good?" Tanin asked flatly.

The wizard slowly shook his head. "I've only recently take the Test," he reminded his brothers. "I haven't had the chance to gain much power."

"But you're one of the youngest ever to take the Test!" Sturm exclaimed.

"Exactly. I'm still very young, and I'm learning on my own. If I had a master...." Palin sighed and tried to ward off dark thoughts. "It doesn't matter. No White Robe would ever take me as apprentice." He laughed, more to himself than to his brothers. "In fact the only offer I've ever had was from Dalamar."

"The dark elf?" Tanin demanded, aghast, while Sturm's eyes widened to roughly the same size as twin pie-plates.

"I shouldn't say 'offer'," Palin amended, though he found himself guiltily enjoying his brothers' horror. "He said that he regretted that I chose the White Robes, because he would have enjoyed teaching me."

"Thank Paladine that will never happen!" Sturm was fervent.

Palin nodded quietly. "But it certainly would have solved my problem."

"Don't say that, little brother," Tanin snapped. "Some solutions come at too high a cost."

"I know that," Palin retorted heatedly. "I'm not about to run off and don the Black Robes. I have enough people looking at me askance already. Don't you start, too!"

"I'm not _starting _anything!" Tanin leaned in aggressively.

"Hey, hey," Sturm, ever the peace-maker, interrupted. "Let's not start arguing now. We have a genuine mystery to solve, remember?"

Palin and Tanin continued glaring at each other for another minute before slowly turning away. Tanin began to pace again; Palin turned back to the mystery of his staff, staring into the crystal and thinking of another set of eyes that might have done the same.

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Thoughts? Comments? Banana peels? All are welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

"This is incredible!" Tanin exclaimed. "The whole thing just vanished all at once? Was it at night?"

Mally smiled smugly. "Middle of the morning on a work day."

Palin knelt down to examine the ground. This was quite unlike what he'd expected. Rather than a simple structure sitting loosely on top of the dirt, the shed had actually been built with foundations and a cellar, which now lay exposed to the cool evening air.

"I'm going inside," the mage announced, and clambered down before anyone could protest. Though Solinari was more than half full, pink with the bloody fingernail of Lunitari next to him, it was darker inside the hole and Palin couldn't see much. "_Shirak_," he whispered. The Staff of Magius cast a pale, eerie light. Bugs crawled on the rough stone wall of the cellar and a rack adorned with a few empty glass bottles stood abandoned of the north side.

"Anything down there?" Sturm called.

"No," answered Palin thoughtfully. "I'm going to cast my spell now."

"Got it!"

The mage dipped his fingers into one of the pouches at his waist and drew out a small piece of glass. Closing his eyes, he slowly chanted the words to a spell of seeing, feeling the magic burning away from his memory as he dropped the piece of glass to the ground.

"You see anything?" Tanin shouted impatiently.

"I haven't looked yet," Palin huffed.

"Sorry."

The young wizard opened his eyes, gasped, and snapped them shut again.

"Is something wrong?" Tanin asked, worry in his voice.

"Not exactly wrong," Palin gasped, slowly opening his eyes again, taking in the blazing light that emanated from the cellar walls.

"What is it?" Tanin demanded.

Palin said nothing, but approached one of the walls and cautiously lay down one hand. The stones were cool, and he sensed nothing, just as he'd sensed nothing in the stalls. Curious. Very curious.

"Palin! What's going on down there?"

"I'm not certain," Palin called. "But whatever it is, it's not to be ignored."

Awkwardly, he clambered back up the cellar wall, hoisting his long, thin back to street level as the spell of seeing faded from his vision.

"Did you see magic?" Mally asked eagerly.

"I saw a great deal of magic," Palin said quietly. "But I didn't_ feel_ any."

"What do you mean?"

"There is more to being magi than wearing robes, or even casting spells," Palin explained in a trouble whisper. "If you were to attempt to read my spellbook, or that of any other wizard, you'd see nothing but gibberish. Only one born with the soul of a mage, with the true connection to the magic, can read magic words, and only a true mage can sense the presence of magic. Here in this hole I saw magic, but I didn't feel it."

"What does that mean?" the barmaid demanded. "There wasn't a spell cast there?"

"I saw the spell energy," Palin shook his head. "So clearly there was."

"So what does it mean?" Tanin echoed the woman. "And why do you need the spell if you can sense the magic?"

Palin grimaced helplessly. "I need the spell because many things are of a magical nature, not necessarily due a spell being cast by another mage. The spell allows me to confirm that recent energy was expended. And I don't know what it means. I can't make an effective judgement by examining this spot alone. Mally, you said that some of the larger equipment went missing. Could you take me to where they were tomorrow?"

"Of course. Why not tonight? You have your staff to light the way."

"I wish it were that simple, but I must re-memorise the spell. Once it has been used, it can't be re-used until it is learned again."

"Is it the same with every spell?" Mally asked, surprise written on her olive skin.

Palin nodded disconsolately as the group started back to the inn, his brothers walking slightly ahead. "It is the curse of the magi."

"I always wondered why your kind don't use their power to control the rest of us," Mally mused. "That must have something to do with it."

Palin frowned. "Not every wizard wishes to rule."

"No, but there have been terrible ones who have tried."

"I suppose," Palin said shortly, and picked up the pace to walk next to his brothers.

* * *

The next morning found Palin crammed between his two very large brothers, sharing the narrow bed of the single room and struggling to feel his extremities. Tossing, pulling and turning, he finally succeeded in rolling over Tanin, who continued to exude mighty snores.

With no little exasperation, Palin briskly dressed and collected his spellbook, headed down the stairs to the commons, and out the door. The early morning sunlight glared harshly in his eyes, and the wizard shielded them with a long hand. Now was the time to get some investigating done without the 'helpful' presence of his brothers, or the hovering, curious barmaid.

Palin's robes whispered on the cobblestones, barely heard in the morning market cacophony, and the Staff of Magius pointed slightly forward, leading the way with its locked power. The mage paused at the main thoroughfare, casting out his senses for the source of his life's pulse, soaking in the whisper of the earth, and murmuring the arcane words of a spell that would reveal to him what he needed to know.

Brilliant light pulsed behind his eyelids and Palin let out a soft, private cry of pain and ecstasy. Almost reluctantly, he opened his eyes and was not surprised to see streaks of power highlighting a multitude of objects. Magic was everywhere, as if the remnants of castings were bleeding out of the town itself. There must be another mage here, but what wizard would so carelessly, so recklessly, make use of his power?

A large. pulsing stain caught his eye. It lay next to a small merchant tent emblazoned with the lable "Nanny's Tunics and Weaves." The mage crossed the road and ducked inside to see a number of small, knitted and woven goods: hats, scarves, gloves, and bags, but no larger items of clothing.

Playing a hunch, Palin cleared his throat, calling attention to himself. A small, bent old woman in a bright red frock turned from arranging the goods. She squinted at the wizard with disapproval.

"Yes?" she grated rudely.

"Excuse me. Your sign says that you have tunics, but I don't see any here. Do you have any left for sale?"

The old woman's eyes narrowed with inimical force. "Think you're funny, do you?"

"Sorry?" the mage asked helplessly.

"Coming here asking as if there any for sale! The nerve of you wizards! You're probably the one that magicked my tent away!"

"I'm sorry; I really don't know anything about it. Did you have another tent?"

"Yes, I _had_ another tent, until it disappeared right out from under my nose. Don't play innocent with me."

"I had nothing to do with it," Palin denied again. "When did it go missing?"

"This morning when I was setting up. Right out from under my nose!" the raging merchant repeated herself.

"You saw it happen?" Palin asked with some excitement.

The merchant huffed and deflated slightly. "Didn't exactly see it, no, but it had to be magic! I came into this tent for no more than five minutes, and when I went back out the other was gone. Don't tell me someone carried it off by hand!"

"It does seem unlikely," Palin agreed. "Perhaps I could help, though. If I could inspect the area where the other tent stood?"

"Go right ahead. You won't find anything," the old crone snapped before pointedly turning her back on the mage.

Palin hurried outside to the empty space where the second tent had been and crouched down on the ground. Only this morning! He was much closer now. If only there was something here that—aha! His hand clasped a small, shining piece of metal, glittering in the morning sun. Could it have been left behind by the thief?

Standing, Palin began the trek back to the inn, examining the key as he walked. It was copper, long and slim, with two teeth. Somewhat distinctive; few keys were made of copper. If only he could--

"Uph!" The breath was knocked completely from the mage as a tremendous weight landed on top of him, throwing him down to the ground. "Get off of me!" he wheezed, smelling sweat and steel and assuming the weight was a person. "Name of the Abyss!"

"Palin!" the voice of his middle brother exclaimed breathlessly. "You were about to walk in front of a cart."

The mage pushed at Sturm's armour and checked himself for injuries as his brother helped him to his feet. Palin regarded the busy road in front of him with wide eyes. Distracted as he had been by the key, he had indeed been wandering sightlessly across the road with every chance of being run down by heedless merchants and townfolk.

"Are you all right?" Sturm demanded with worried, bulging eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Palin snarled, furious with himself and taking it out on his sibling. Clenching his fists at his side, he noticed immediately that they were both empty. The Staff of Magius lay on the ground next to him, and he snatched it up, but--

"The key!" he gasped.

"What key?" asked Sturm, wrinkling his broad brow with puzzlement.

"The one I had in my hand! Bronze with two teeth. Look for it; it's important."

Not waiting for his brother's response, the mage began searching himself, looking at the ground anxiously. That glint on the road? Could that be it? He watched as carts went rattling heedlessly by, and waited for a gap in the traffic, clenching his fists rhythmically with anxiety.

Just as he was about to rush out, Sturm's voice stopped him. "Is this it?"

Palin whirled around and saw the key lying innocently on his brother's huge hand. "Yes!" the wizard gasped, snatching the small piece of metal away.

"You're welcome," Sturm said with a smile.

Palin blushed with shame. "Thank you," he murmured. "This could be the, er, key to this whole mystery. I found it at the site of another disappearance. If we find out where it came from, what it's supposed to unlock, we might find the thief."

"How are we supposed to find that out?" Sturm asked. "It could be for any door, drawer of cupboard in town."

Palin shook his head with fond exasperation. "Not if the thief is a visitor to the town. Then it could only be for certain things: the key to a room at an inn, or a box at the treasury, perhaps. If it doesn't fit, then it might only be trinket someone dropped. But I'm hoping...."

"I see what you mean," Sturm agreed. "It's the only real lead we have."

Palin smiled with a disorienting melange of excitement and frustration and turned back to the road, waiting for a chance to cross.

* * *

Sorry about the delay; haven't been on the net much recently! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. :)


	5. Chapter 5

My apologies for the hiatus. My muses abandoned me, but I should be posting regular updates from now on.

* * *

Back at the inn, there was trouble waiting for them in the person of an affronted barmaid.

"I thought you said you wanted me to help you this morning!" Mally exploded at Palin, regarding him with the sort of expression usually reserved for gully dwarves.

"I did want you to," Palin stuttered. "I just thought I'd take a look around myself first."

"Well then you obviously don't need me now," the woman snarled and stalked away, furiously tugging on her apron.

Palin glanced at his brothers helplessly, but found no relief. Both older Majeres were trying not to laugh, and not succeeding very well.

"I don't understand," the mage said. "She's acting as thought it were a personal insult."

"It _is _a personal insult," Sturm informed him.

"How?" Palin could rarely remember being so confused.

"She likes you," Tanin said gently.

"Yes?" What did that have to do with anything?

"We mean she _likes_you, little brother," Sturm repeated meaningfully.

Palin blushed. "You mean...."

"Exactly," Tanin confirmed. "Just like we said before. And now she thinks you rejected her."

"But...but that's absurd! I never never said anything that indicated interest in the first place!" Palin exclaimed a little too loudly. He winced as, across the room, Mally slammed down a breakfast tray.

"Doesn't matter," Tanin said. "Now you've rejected her. We probably won't get much help from that end anymore, unless you apologise."

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

Sturm shook his head with exasperation. "You may be brilliant, little brother, but you're not very clever."

Palin turned even more red with shame and fury and rushed up the stairs to their room. There he tossed the Staff of Magius onto the unmade bed and threw himself down next to it, feeling lost. Life was so much easier when he only had to deal with the magic. People so often confused him.

The door creaked open and he heard his brothers clamber inside a little less tremendously than usual.

"Hey, Palin," Sturm began awkwardly, sitting down on the bed and rolling both younger brother and magical staff towards his sudden weight. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Palin grimaced and shook his head against the covers. "It's all right. It's my fault. Sometimes I just don't...understand."

"I know what you mean," Sturm said with a little grin. "I don't understand you either sometimes. But I still love you."

Palin smiled wryly and sat up, pushing his hair back from his face. "I still love you, too."

Sturm threw an arm around Palin and clenched him to his side. "Knuckle sandwich!" he exclaimed, catching the unsuspecting mage's head and rubbing an affectionately rough hand harshly over his long auburn hair.

Palin screamed and struggled to no avail, and soon Tanin was jumping into the fray, holding down the youngest Majere for a cheerful beating. The mage endured it with loving frustration, eventually managing to touch his staff and whisper, "_Shirak_."

Light flooded the room, blindingly bright behind the still-drawn curtains, and the mage weasled out of his brothers' momentarily loosened grips. The two warriors laughed and collapsed back on the bed, exchanging twin wry glances.

"I win!" Palin announced triumphantly.

"Sure, little brother," Tanin agreed too readily, laughing again.

Palin shook his head with pleasant exhaustion and let it be. He sat back down on the bed. "All right, we have another clue." Quickly, he explained the key to Tanin.

"Are you certain you don't want to apologise to the barmaid?" Tanin asked dryly when his brother was finished.

Palin pushed at the older man's armoured shoulder. "It won't be bad; the town's not that large."

"This was a lot more than I expected when we rode into this little spit of a town," Sturm mused with far-away eyes, no doubt longing to be back on the road where the only thing he might have to 'deal with' would be attacking hobgoblins and the odd, aging draconian.

"We got a lot more than we bargained for them we had a drink with a flashy dwarf, too," Tanin reminded the other warrior.

"Ah, that's the life of the adventurer!" Sturm sighed lustily.

Palin shook his head with exasperation and stood back up. "Well, we're having an adventure right now, so let's get going."

"Adventure!" Tanin snorted with enough force to remind Palin of his parents' old stories of Flint Fireforge and his horse 'allergy.' "We've had our horses stolen!"

"By a strange magical force," Palin evoked pointedly.

The two red-headed warriors exchanged one of those strange glances that made them look all the more like the twins they often seemed to be, but shuffled to their feet without verbal exposition. Palin too said nothing, though he was fully aware that magic unsettled his brothers far more than it intrigued them.

"First we go to the clerk and ask if the key belongs to a door in this inn," the mage decided. "That will narrow down our search right from the start."

"And if the thief is here, heads are going to roll," Sturm growled, flexing his arms and pounding his right fist into his open left palm.

Tanin sighed. "If the thief is a mage, we won't be able to do a thing. Guess it's up to you now, little brother."

"He probably isn't here," Palin said thoughtfully. "Someone would have said something about another wizard being in the inn. We're not that common."

Frustrated and mystified, all three brothers went back downstairs and headed immediately to the clerk on morning duty. The man looked sleepy-eyed and bored as he absently went over the ledger.

"Excuse me." Palin cleared his throat to draw additional attention.

"Yes?" the clerk asked with a poorly-concealed yawn. To his credit he looked a little embarrassed.

"I found this key outside and I was wondering if it might belong to any of the rooms here." Palin plucked the key from his largest pouch, in which he kept the least volatile of his magical components. He displayed the object at a safe distance, worried that the man might try to take it.

The clerk looked at it without much interest. "Copper. No. Doesn't come from here."

"Thank you," Palin said politely. He redeposit the key in his pouch. The clerk had turned back to the books before the mage even finished speaking.

"Is there another inn in town?" Palin asked.

The clerk didn't bother looking up this time. "Sure. The _Unicorn Tail_. Other side of town. Nasty place."

"How so?"

"Cheap and filthy."

Palin nodded; gave his thanks again, and rejoined his brothers, whom he informed of the new developments. The Majeres emerged into the still-glaring morning light and breathed in the fresh air with satisfaction.

"Speaking of nasty places," Sturm grumbled. "All I can spell inside _there _is pipe smoke."

"Watch out you don't get hit by another wagon, little brother," Tanin warned with a grin.

Palin shot a betrayed glare at Sturm, who grinned back sheepishly. "Sorry. Thought you might still be upset about that, too."

The mage pointedly kept his concentration on the road, though he was sorely tempted to review his meagre collection of spells.

* * *

When the brothers arrived at the _Unicorn Tail_, they were forced to admit that it did indeed look far less welcoming than the first inn.

"Fancy naming this place after a unicorn," Palin mused as he eyed the dilapidated structure suspiciously.

Tanin snorted his agreement. "Somewhere on Krynn there is a very insulted unicorn."

Unconsciously, all three drew into a rough battle formation before entering the cracked front door, a move that proved quite sensible once they were inside and a bottle went hurdling unceremoniously toward them. The brothers ducked and the glass shattered against the door as stentorian voices filled the air with heavy rage. At least ten men were brawling in the centre of the cramped barroom. Fists were flying and, as the brothers watched, one of the men lifted a chair and smashed the heavy wood over the back of another man.

"I'll ask the barman!" Palin screamed over the tumult.

"We're with you!" Tanin shouted back, flanking the mage at his left as Sturm wordlessly fell into position at the right. The mage crept along the bar floor battle, trying not to draw attention to himself.

"Wadda ye want?" the barman growled when they at last stood in front of him.

"Do you recognise this key?" Palin shouted, holding it aloft.

"Whiskey?" the barman shouted back.

"No! Do you _recognise this key_?" Palin repeated.

The huge man stared at the wizard belligerently, steadily chewing on a wad of tobacco.

"Three whiskeys!" Tanin ordered sternly.

"But I don't--" Palin started.

"Shh, little brother," Tanin hushed him. Palin shot the other man a furious glare, barely noticing when three glasses of bright golden liquid were slammed down in front of them.

Sturm leaned over and spoke gently, directly into his brother's ear. "You don't get something for nothing, Palin."

"Don't recognise the key," the barman interjected simply.

Palin whipped around. "It's not from any of the rooms here?"

"I said I don't recognise it," the man behind the bar repeated firmly.

"But--" Tanin and Sturm quietly turned their brother away from the bar, catching their glasses of whiskey as they moved. Two massive arms went up into the air and the bright liquor disappeared down twin throats, followed by twin sighs of satisfaction.

"You going to drink that?" Sturm asked Palin, pointing to the last remaining glass.

The young mage gave the whiskey a disdainful frown and tersely shook his head. He said nothing when Sturm downed the final whiskey.

"Thanks!" Tanin chuckled as he threw some coins on the bar.

No response was forthcoming from their erstwhile informant and the two warriors steered their grimly silent younger brother around the continuing battle of the bar.

"Well, that was pointless!" Palin snapped once they were again out in the sunlight and fresh air.

"I don't know about that. I got two drinks out it," Sturm said brightly before letting out a loud burp.

Palin tossed his brother an expression of disgust and began briskly walking in no particular direction.

The two warriors hurried to catch up with him. "So what now?" Tanin asked.

Palin stopped and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He grimaced when he felt how dirty and oily it was. "I need a bath," he muttered.

"There's probably a tub back at our inn," Sturm volunteered.

"Probably," Tanin agreed before Palin could respond. "But right now we need to find the town treasury. If the key doesn't belong to them, then we'lll regroup at the inn. Sound good?"

The other two muttered something vaguely agreeable and started back to the centre of town.

* * *

I hope that you enjoyed! Reviews appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

Palin sank luxuriously into the steaming bathtub, sighing as the heat saturated his limbs. If there was one thing that his brothers did indeed thoroughly know of him, it was that he loved cleanliness and certain creature comforts that were hard to come by on the road. A bath was surely his most loved creature comfort.

The room was utterly silent outside of the sound of his delighted scrubbing. The ceiling was low and there were no windows; Palin was all alone with the large tub and his own complex thoughts.

Though the mystery of key demanded entrance to his contemplations, the wizard had left it firmly behind the locked door. Instead he considered his spells and what he desired to learn next, the arcane mathematics that would deepen his knowledge. Burning symbols danced through his mind, lighting his senses with cerebral desire.

Slowly, he sank further into the water, catching his breath just before the placid surface closed over his mouth, nose, and finally eyes. Squinting, he stared up through the glassy barrier. He imagined the gently rippling liquid as a portal to the surface of Solinari itself. Redolent with mystic might, the shining white moon would open its arms to embrace him, but only once he'd passed through dangers as subtle and inexplicable as the breath-stealing water itself….

A splash sounded in the bathroom as Palin broke the surface, gasping for air with one arm stretched forward as if to physically capture the moon in his grasp.

"Oh, hello!" a bright voice chirped. "I hope I didn't interrupt you."

Palin looked around to see a typically brightly-clad kender skip forward to examine the bath fixtures.

"These are awfully nice," the kender pronounced solemnly. "I should protect them or someone might steal them."

"Someone," Palin echoed, baffled and ironic. Where had this kender come from?

Then, to his horror and astonishment, the kender in question began to chant. The piping voice seemed suddenly deep and ominous. Power filled the air and a golden glow surrounded the faucet and tap, intensifying and then fading away. Palin blinked at the black little holes that now occupied the space where the fixtures used to be.

"There!" the kender sounded satisfied. "Now no one will steal them."

The wizard was tempted to point out that no one could because the kender had already stolen them, but he refrained. There was no arguing with kender-logic. Besides, he had more pressing issues to deal with-like how had a kender cast a spell?

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked casually. Perhaps the other would simply tell him; kender loved stories.

"Learn to do what?" the kender asked. "Nilligan Stormcloud, by the way," he said, marching over to hold out a small hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Awkwardly leaning out of the tub, Palin shook with a dripping hand. "Palin Majere," he said automatically.

The kender gasped. "Majere? Any relation to Raistlin the Archmage?"

Palin flushed furiously. "I'm his nephew."

Nilligan narrowed his eyes and considered Palin in a most unkender-like fashion. "His nephew? And you're a mage?"

"Of the White Robes," Palin answered more than a little defensively.

Stormcloud-a most unusual kender name, Palin thought-wandered over to the white robes in question and began shamelessly riffling through them, quickly finding a long string of pouches.

"Don't touch those," Palin ordered. "Those are my spell components."

"And you just left them where anyone can get to them?" Nilligan demanded, aghast. Already his hands were inside the first pouch. "Hmm, good cobweb," he muttered.

"I'm in the bath," Palin said, exasperated.

"So you are," Nilligan agreed.

"So no one is likely to just wander by and 'get to' them," the young mage snapped.

"I did," Nilligan pointed out obliviously.

"Yes, and how did you do that! Kender can't do magic!"

"Kender!" the kender gasped. "Where?" He looked around furiously, clutching Palin's pouches to his chest. "Horrible creatures! Can't abide them!"

Palin gaped, completely baffled. Was this kender mad? Or…

Another idea started tickling at his brain, but as the kender began absently putting objects into his own pouches and pockets, the wizard scrambled for a towel and stumbled out of his interrupted bath.

"No one is going to steal my spell components," he explained with exaggerated patience, relieving Nilligan of the items he had already secreted away.

"Are you sure?" the other asked dubiously. "Maybe I should just-"

"No, thank you," Palin interrupted softly. "Now, where did you say you came from? Kenderhome, was it?"

"Of course not! I'm from Nordmaar-by way of Northern Ergoth, most recently."

"Nordmaar. Unusual for a kender."

"Has the kender come back?" Nilligan exclaimed. "Sneaky creatures, and they'll steal the towel right off you. You should get dressed."

Palin eyed his small companion speculatively before pulling on his white underobe. Too late he detected the rush of displaced air, and when the cloth cleared his head, the kender was gone.

The wizard took his time finishing dressing, combing his hair and replacing his pouches about his waist. As he did so, he carefully considered his new idea. Then he went to find his brothers.

* * *

Tanin wasn't thrilled to hear that the most likely culprit of horse theft had already come and gone. His two brothers impatiently waited out his disgruntled complaining.

"I still think there's a wizard involved in this," Palin finally interrupted. "And I still think we need to find out where this key came from."

"But we've already searched both inns and the treasury! Where else could it belong?" Sturm asked.

"The town hall?" Palin suggested. "It's the only public place we've yet to see. And maybe if we find where the key came from, the wizard-or the kender-will come to us."

"What makes you so certain there's a wizard involved?" Sturm asked.

"The kender appeared and disappeared magically. An ordinary kender could not do that alone."

"Then maybe this is no ordinary kender," Sturm suggested.

Palin nodded slowly. "Maybe."

"What is it, little brother?" Tanin asked. "You have an idea, don't you?"

Palin hesitated. "Maybe. But I'm not certain. I'd rather not say for now. And it doesn't make any difference at the moment."

"If you're sure…."

"I'll tell you soon," Palin promised his brothers.

Soon they took back to the streets, making for the centre and the town hall. It turned out to be a rather sprawling building that included a small library. Palin was more than a little tempted to go inside and spend a pleasant afternoon amidst the stacks. His desire must have been obvious, though, for his brothers quickly steered him past the books.

"Excuse me,' Tanin asked the clerk sitting in the main hall. "Do you know where this key might have come from?"

The man looked up and smiled. "Of course. That comes from one of our safe boxes."

"Of course!" Tanin laughed, quickly catching on. "I knew that, but I just don't know which box it belongs to. A friend of mine gave the key to me. I'm supposed to pick up his gear."

"Here, let's see," the clerk muttered, pulling out a ledger. "Name?" he asked.

"Name?" Tanin echoed.

"Your friend's name," the clerk said slowly, as if to a dull-witted person.

_He hadn't told his brothers the kender's name!_ "Nilligan Stormcloud," Palin blurted out. "That's our friend's name."

The clerk didn't seem to notice his haste. "Stormcloud; yes, it's here. Come with me," the man said, putting away his ledger.

He lead them over to a small hallway lined with metal strong boxes, each fitted with a lock whose hole looked a good match to the key in Tanin's hand.

"This is it," the clerk pointed out a box somewhere in the middle before wandering back off to his desk.

"Well, we've found it," Sturm said. "Let's open 'er up."

"Here, Palin," Tanin said. "You do it."

Palin took the key with an amused expression and slipped it into the lock. The door swung innocuously open, letting in the light at almost the same moment that Palin let out a sigh.

"I was right," he said heavily.

"Right about what?" Tanin asked.

Slowly, Palin pulled out a pile of cloth, shaking it out to reveal a voluminous set of scarlet robes. "Right about this."

"I don't get it," Sturm said. "If there's a wizard here, why would he keep his robes in this box?"

"Because he isn't wearing them anymore. The _kender_ is the wizard."

"A kender wizard!" Tanin exclaimed. "But those robes are far too large."

Palin grimaced. "Yes-now. He wasn't always a kender. If I'm right, then the wizard is a victim of a polymorph spell. He's been physically and mentally transformed into a kender. I suspected it when he came to, er, visit me. He didn't seem to admit, or realise, that he was a kender. He could do magic, and he didn't have a kender name or place or origin. It all fits with what's been happening in this town as well.

"Kender, like dwarves and gnomes, aren't allowed to become mages because they were created out of the chaos of the Greygem. The effects of their spellcasting can be completely unpredictable. Even the Dewar, the dark dwarves who have been known to perform magic, never move past a certain level due to these unpredictable effects. But what we have here is a fully developed mage with all of the powers of a wizard who taken his Test and been allowed to move on to higher study-in the body and mind of a kender."

"So that's why you couldn't feel the magic where those spells were cast," Sturm said slowly. "Because of the unpredictable effects."

"Fortunately-though unfortunately for us-his new kender brain is urging this wizard to steal. But if he were to cast more dangerous magics…." Palin trailed off meaningfully.

"Who knows what might happen," Tanin finished, grim-faced. "Well, then you'll just have to change him back."

Palin unwillingly laughed. "I can't. That's beyond my power. We have to find the wizard that did it and force him to reverse it. But if what I suspect is true, that's going to be difficult."

A light went on in Tanin's eyes. "You think he did it to himself."

"Exactly. Some kind of accident, no doubt. But forcing a kender to concentrate enough to cast a spell of such magnitude will not only be difficult, but dangerous as well."

Suddenly a rush of displaced air sounded a 'pop' in the ears of all three brothers. Turning around, they saw the wide-eyed face of Nilligan Stormcloud.

* * *

Comments are welcome, and I hope you're still enjoying!


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